Underframe for cars.



M. HAMILTON UNDERFRAME FOR GARS.

APPLIGATIONIILED SEPT. 12, 1912.

Patented May 26, 1914 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lPafallted. May 26, 1914.

` 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED sr-.LrrEs PATENT oEEIcE.

KARL M. HAMILTON, or DAVENPORT, IOWA, AssIGNon, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, 'ro

THE BETTENDORE coMPANY, or BETTENDQBE, IowA, A ConronA'rIoN oF IoWA.

UNDERERAME ron cAEs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26,1914.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, KARL M. HAMILTON, a citizen of .the United States of America, and resident of Davenport, Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Underframes for Cars, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to metallic underframes commonly used in railway car construction, and particularly to that type of underframe silll in which the vertical height of the'central portion thereof is greater than at the ends. v y

In an underframe designed to carry practically the entire load on a center sill made of commercial shapes such as VI beams or channels, beams of great depth of section are employed. `The depth of section is usually sogreat that to maintain M. C. B.

standard measurements in connection with floor-height, center plate height and coupler height, it becomes necessary to reduce thel of I beams or channels to have same extend from bolster to bolster and complete the sill by securing draftv sills thereto of less height or vertical dimension. The ends of the sill proper when secured to the draft sills would be reduced in vertical height by removing or displacing a portion of the web and bending the flanges toward one another, or by shearing ofl' the lower flange and a-tapering portion of the web at each end of the sill then reinforcing the sill by riveting angles along the severed edge. In sills of this type the reduced ends are usually terminated at thebody holsters of the underframe or allowed to extend past the bolster a short distance at which point they are secured to the draft arms or sills of the same height as the reduced end 'of the main sill.

The object of my invention is to effect this necessary reduction of height entirely in the draft arm portion of the sill, leaving the main or body portion of the sill in its original height throughout. This I accomplish as shown in the accompanying drawings in which- 4 Figure lis a plan View of a portion of an underframe showing the center sill consisting of two Ibeams, the channel draft arms,

-a portion of the body bolster and end sill. Fig. Qis a side elevation partly in section of the s ame portion of an lmderframe fshown 1n Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is-a detail cross section taken on. line A--B'of Fig. 2. Fig. '-4 is a plan view of a portion of an underframe showing a modification of my invention as applied to a center sill made of a single I beam. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail cross section taken on line C-D of Fig. 5.

-Similar numerals indicate similar parts throughout the severalv Views.

While only a fragmentary View of an un,- derframe is shown it is, of course, under'- stood that thev construction is identical at both ends of the lcar. The I beam center sill 1 (one end of whichonly is shown) terminates between the bolster'2 (one only being shown) at some little distance back therefrom, and is securely riveted to the rear ends of the rolled` channel draft sill 3, which draft sills form a continuation 'of the center sill, extending on past the end sill 4 to which they are riveted, affording a support for the striking plate 5 and the couplerl vare securely. riveted. Passing through the web of the draft sills at about the center of their longitudinal length, through a suitablev opening between the flanges thereof, is the body bolster'2. The rear ends of these draft sills 3 are .bifurcated vforming two prongs 8 and 9. These prongs are spread apart a distance approximately the vertical height of the center sill ,to which they aresecurely riveted. Theshape of the upper prongl of the bifurcation is left unchanged from its original form but the lower prong is bent downward at an angle for the greater portion of its length with that portion of its end contacting the center sillrunning parallel to the center sill flange andthe upper prong.

When attaching the draft sills to a center sill made of two rolled members such as I beams illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and3, the lower outside flanges of the I beams may be coped or cut away where theends of the draft sills Alap the end of the center sills and the plates 12 extending over the entire 110 bifurcated portion of the draft sills are riveted-thereto and tothe web of the center sills. `I 'Vhen attaching the draft sillsl to a 4centersiltconsisting of a single I beam as showii...inf-Figs. 4, 5 an'd 6, the rear bifurcatcdiends of the draft sills 3 are bent 1n toward','lap past and closely embrace the end of the center sill as shown at 13. Instead of coping or cutting away the lower flange of the center sill-where engaged by the draft sill, it may lbeleft intact and the horizontal anges of the draft sill prongs, which are normally at right angles to the vweb thereof, can be shaped to meet the contour of the inner face of the center sill flange as shown at 14- and riveted thereto. To properly strengthen t-he sill at the juncture' of the draft sills and center sill, the reinforcing plates 15`are extended over the entire bifurcated port-ion of thedraft sills' and riveted to the web .thereof and to the center sill end.` `This union-is further strengthened by the Afiller plate 16 riveted between the rein` forcingplates 15 and the web of the center sill. Thus the draft sills Y,with their rear endswid'enedv to meet the vertical height of tlie.center sill form, whenfjoined thereto, a sill of iishbelly shape such as are commonly used in .car underframes. At the present time it is the general practice to construct these sills by either taking a web sheet ofsufiicient length to extend from end vsill toend sill of an underframe, shear it intoiish belly form and rivet angles on both 35,

sides of the web plate at the top and bottom edges; Oras illustrated in U. S. Patent No. 620561, the ends of the beam are reduced in vertical dimensions by removing or disy placing a portion of its web and bending the lower flange' toward the upper, bringing the vsevered edges of the web in contact, and

when a beam of this kind is to be used in the center sill of an underframe, it is completed by riveting draft arms or sills to the ends thereof of the same vertical dimensionV as the reduced ends of the beam; or as illus- Aheight of the draft arms, but by maintaining lthe central portion in its original height throughout and effect the fish belly form by increasing the vertical height of the adjacent ends 0f the draft arms to meet that 0f the central portion. It has also been the practice when draft arms `were secured to the central portion of a sill to terminate the central portion between thebody bolsters or at a point between the body bolster and end sill and either pass the body bolster through an opening in the cent-ral portion, or pass t-he sill through a bolster provided with a top and bottom plate, but

What I claim as new is- 1. In an underframe, the combination of metallic center sill members; of longitudinally extending metallic end members having` bifurcated ends secured to said center sill members.

2. In an underframe, the combination of metallic center sill members; of end sills;

of metallic end members having one end bifurcated and secured to said center sill member by said bifurcations and-the other end secured to said end sills.

3. In an underframe, the combination of flanged -beam center sills; of end sills; of

ianged beam draft sills having one end bifurcated and secu-red to said center sills by said bifurcations and the other end secured to said-end sills.

4. In an underframe, the combination of metallic center sill members; of end sills; of body bolsters; of draft sills connecting ksaid center'sills and end sills and provided with an opening between its upper and lower edges forward of the center sill members through which said holsters pass.

5. In an underframe, the combination of metallic center-sill members; of body bolsters; of longitudinally extending metallic vend members having bifurcated ends secured to said center sill members and provided wi-th an opening between their upper and lower edges through which said body bolsters pass. y

6. In an underframe, the combination of metallic center sill members; of end sills; of body bolsters; of longitudinally extending end members having one end bifurcated and secured to said center sill member by said bifurcations and the other end secured to said end sill and provided with an opening between said bifurcations and end sill for ythe passage therethrough of said body bolster.

7. In an underframe, the combination of metallic center sill members, the vertical dimension of which .is equal throughout their length; of longitudinally extending metallic draft sills, provided with draft gear stops, secured to the ends of said center sill members, the vertical dimension of said draft sills at their unionV with said center sills being greater than at their outer ends.

8. In an underframe, the combination of metallic center sill members, the upper and.

lower edges of which are parallel throughout their length; of longitudinally extending metallic draft sills secured to t-he ends of said center sill members and provided with draft gear stops, and bolster openings, the vertical dimension of said draft sills at their union with said center sills being greater than at their outer ends.

9. ln an underfrarneo the combination of metallic center sill members; of end sills; of longitudinally 'extending metallic draft sills having their rear ends bifurcated and secured to said center sill members, and their forward ends secured to and extended past said end sills and having a striking plate and draw bar carry-.iron secured to the outer end thereof.

10. ln an underframe, the combination of a single metallic center sill; yof longitudinallyr extending metallic end members having bifurcated ends bent in toward and secured to said center sill.

1l. ln an underframe, the combination of a single a'nged beam center sill of the same vertical dimension throughout its length; of end sills; offlanged beam draft sills having their forward ends spaced apart and secured to-.s'aid end sill and their rear ends Abent in toward and secured to said center sill, the

vertical dimension of said draft arms being greater adjacent the center sill than at the end sill.

12. lin an underframe, the combination of single flanged .beam center sill; of body lHolsters; of hanged beam draft sills having bifurcatedends bent in toward and secured to said center sill, and an opening between their top and bottom edges for the passage of said holsters.

13. ln an underframe, the combination of a single Hanged beam center sill; of'end sills; of anged beam draft sills having their rear vends .bifurcated and secured to said center sill, and their forward ends spaced apart and secured to and extended past said end sill, and having a striking plate andicoupler carry-iron secured to the outer` end thereof.

14. In an underframe, the combination of a flanged beam center-sill; of body bolsters;

vof longitudinally extending metallic draft car underframe consisting of a central portion of uniform vertical dimension throughout-,.anged beam end portions securedto the central portion, the outer ends of which are of less vertical dimension than the cent-ral portion, and the inner ends of which are bifurcated and spread apart a distance approximating the `vertical dimension of the central portion to which they are secured.

16. A truss shape metallic sill for car underframes consisting of a central portion of uniform depth of vertical section throughout; metallic end portions provided with bolster openings and draft gear stops, secured to the said central portion, the outer ends of said end portion being of less depth of vertical section than the said central portion', and the inner ends of which are increased in depth of vertical section substantially to that of the said central portion to which they are secured.

Signed by me at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin this 2nd day of September 1912. p

KARL M. HAMILTON. Witnesses:

FRANK A. HOY, J. GERGEN. 

